Macross: Untold Stories Volume II
by aikiweezie
Summary: What happened afterward Khyron's attack on the SDF1? This is just my vision of what could have happened. Chapter 11 added.
1. Chapter 1

Lisa's awoke to the sound of her watch alarm, at 5:45 a.m. as usual on workdays. It was Christmas Day, December 25th 2014. The morning after Lisa went over to Rick's place to try to make peace, give him his Christmas present and to try, one more time, to get it right. The morning after she found Minmei there asking to stay, and hearing Rick agree. The morning after Lisa spent most of the night attempting to drown her sorrows in alcohol at the Setup.

Lisa was sitting on the floor against the wall in her bathroom. She had been there since she got home. "How did I get back here," she wondered, afraid of what the answer might be. She couldn't remember anything past 1:00 a.m., or was it 2:00 a.m.? 

Lisa stood up slowly by sliding herself up against the wall. She was relieved to find that the room finally stopped spinning, but before she could be too grateful she discovered another problem; a pounding headache concentrated over her right eye, which provided her with another wave of nausea. She turned around and walked over to the sink.

She leaned against the sink and looked in the mirror. "Oh…my…. God…" she thought to herself. She looked awful. She _looked_ like she spent the whole night alternating between being passed out and throwing up. Her hair was wet from sweat and plastered to her forehead. Black circles surrounded her puffy eyes, and her skin was the almost same shade of green as the trim on her uniform. 

"I HAVE to go in," she thought to herself; remember the fact that she had not reported for duty a few weeks ago for the very same reason. When she opened the bathroom door she found Claudia sleeping on the couch. "Okay…Claudia's here, but how did we _get_ home?" she wondered to herself as she tiptoed past her snoring friend into the kitchen to start some coffee. Lisa stood there for a moment trying to fend off another wave of nausea and when she heard Claudia begin to stir.

Claudia sat up slowly and looked around, looking just a little confused as to where she was for a moment before she remembered, and saw Lisa standing in the kitchen. "Good Morning, Merry Christmas," she said in a groggy voice.

Lisa managed to croak out weak "hi," before running to bathroom to be sick again.

"Poor kid," Claudia thought. She stood up, discovering her own slight headache and walked over to the bathroom door. "Lisa, are you okay, honey."

Lisa opened the door and looked at her friend saying, "I feel so stupid."

Claudia led Lisa over the couch and sat her down before heading into the kitchen to bring them both some coffee and toast. 

"Here, you have to eat or you'll be sick all day." Claudia said as she put their plates on the coffee table.

"Thanks, Claudia. I'll try, but it's twenty to six and I have to get ready." Lisa said.

"You're _not_ thinking of going in are you? Lisa you can't. You look terrible and……"

Lisa cut Claudia off. "I missed my shift two weeks ago, Claudia. For the same reason. I don't care how good my record is, I can't just not show up again. I'll just tell everybody I have the flu and hope it's a quiet day."

"Lisa, I'm getting worried about you. Sure, I over do it a little myself now and then, but not as bad as you. And it doesn't make me sick, either. Dammit, girl, you can't let him get to you like this! You're better than that. Besides, after last night…. " Claudia stopped herself, realizing that maybe she should just let it go.

"What do you mean? Oh, God, Claudia what happened last night? I don't remember much. How did we get back here?"

Claudia took a deep breath and said "Lisa, maybe we should talk about this later…."

"No, _now_, Claudia. I'm going in for duty. If I did something stupid you have to tell me. You know how people are. You can't keep anything quiet…"

"Okay, okay. Don't you remember _anything_?"

"I remember you coming in and ordering a drink. I think I was already pretty numb by then. Then that guy came over and started talking to me."

"More like hitting you," Claudia corrected her. "He was kind of cute, but he was also very drunk."

"What did I do? Wait. I remember something. Did I…. did I do something, to him, Claudia?"

"Do you remember dancing with him?" asked Claudia.

After a moment Lisa shook her head, "Vaguely. Who was that guy, anyway?"

"I don't know, Lisa. Some civilian. He coerced you onto the dance floor. You were dancing to _bad_ country western song…I can't remember what song it was, but then he started getting grabby. Somehow, you managed to put him in a hammerlock and push into a table. Then you ordered another tequila shot. The bartender cut you off, thank God, and then you threw up on my shoes. Lieutenant Snyder was there from Wolf Squadron, and he offered to drive us home. That was about 1:30. You passed out in the car and he had to carry you in."

"Shit. Who else was there? Does Snyder have a big mouth? I guess it doesn't matter, this _will_ get around. Dammit." Lisa muttered as she headed toward the bathroom for some aspirin. 

"Lisa, I'm going to head home. Can I borrow a pair of shoes?" Claudia asked.

"Of course. I'm sorry about yours. And thanks, Claudia. I don't know what I'd do without you."

"Don't worry about it, sweetie. Call me when you get home." Claudia replied as she headed out the door.

After a quick shower and some makeup to try and cover the dark circles under her eyes and hide her even paler than usual appearance, Lisa took a bite of toast and a sip of coffee before rushing out the door to report. One more quick check in the mirror led Lisa to realize that no one was going to buy her flu excuse. 

"I just hope it's a quiet day," she thought as she locked the door behind her. Fortunately she saw Major Simmons who lived a few doors down with his family leaving for duty and she asked if she could ride in with him.

They we barely a block away when Lisa was overcome by another bout of nausea. She put her hand over her mouth and prayed she could stop herself from puking all over the Major's jeep.

"Are you okay, Captain?" said Simmons

"Just a touch of the flu. Just keep driving. I'll be fine."

Thank you Sphersian for the encouragement! 


	2. Chapter 2

Christmas Day, 2015

It was everything _but _the quiet Christmas day Lisa Hayes had hoped for when she left her quarters early that morning. Khyron decided to give the humans a Christmas Present, attacking locations in the industrial sector as well as orchestrating a number of deadly terrorist attacks on civilian parts of the city.

By the end of the day, twenty-five pilots were either wounded or missing, dozens of civilians were killed, and hundreds more wounded.

After leaving the bridge around 8:30 p.m., Lisa was exhausted mentally, physically and emotionally. Several friends and co-workers were among those missing and presumed dead. She decided to walk over to the Cathedral; it was Christmas after all, even though her duty schedule made it impossible for her to attend any kind of services that day. She stopped for a moment at the edge of Lake Gloval to button her coat, when she heard Rick call her name.

Her heart and head began to pound when she saw him walking toward her. He looked very angry.

"What the **hell**, happened today, Lisa?! Why did you tell Vanessa I was sick? You know I'm not. I should have been notified at the first order to scramble!"

Lisa had never seen this angry, especially with her, and the sight made her feel sick.

Without looking at him directly she replied, "She asked me before Khyron started attacking if I was going to bring you to the Christmas party tonight. I just made that up as an excuse." She glanced up at his face and continued, "You see…..I…I figured…I stopped by your place last night around 9:00…I had something for you…and I thought …." She stopped for a moment. Lisa could feel tears beginning to burn in the corner of her tired eyes. She continued, "your door was open and I saw you had…I saw that Minmei was there… I heard what you said. I just figured you'd rather be left alone today, that's all. I'm sorry." She closed her eyes tight and wished the earth would swallow her up.

Rick had never seen Lisa so tongue-tied, and she looked terrible. He wasn't angry anymore. He found himself feeling sorry for her. "Lisa. I'm sorry you found out this way. Truth is, I just don't know where things with Minmei and I are going to go right now."

"I, um….listen, I gotta go. Merry Christmas, Rick." She turned to walk away, when she felt his hand on her shoulder. She couldn't turn around. Tears were streaming from her eyes, and she didn't want him to see. She stopped for a moment took a deep breath, then continuing to her original destination, the Cathedral. After a few moments of silent reflection, she went home. She left Claudia a quick voicemail, as promised; to let her she was okay, even though she wasn't. She knew Claudia was with Vince and his family and didn't want to have to decline an invitation to join them.

When she got home Lisa made herself some tea, and turned the TV on hoping to find something on that could distract her from the dark thoughts that were running through her mind this Christmas night. She fell asleep on the couch, wishing that she could trade places with of one of the civilians that lost their life that day. 

Thanks everybody who read and reviewed my first story! I'm glad you liked it!

I don't think this one's as interesting…I dunno.

(I always felt that Lisa needed to explain why she said he was sick to Vanessa. )


	3. Chapter 3

Rick couldn't sleep. He lay on his back in the dark bedroom, illuminated only by the pale greenish light from his alarm clock. Minmei was sleeping peacefully beside him. He took a glance at the clock. It was 5:15 a.m. Too early to get up, he thought to himself, but he was too agitated to go back to sleep.

It was the morning on Friday, January 16th 2015. Rick and Minmei had been together, as a couple, living together, for just about three weeks. 

Rick stayed in bed for a few more minutes trying to push the increasingly troubling thoughts out of his mind so he could get a bit more rest. When he realized that he couldn't, he got up, gently closing the bedroom door behind him as not to disturb Minmei. Rick was relieved that he could enjoy some time alone. Since she arrived at his house, they had been together constantly. Much to his surprise, Rick was finding that things were not working out the way he had always hoped they would. He finally had Minmei in his life, and in his bed, but he felt empty, and strangely alone. 

Rick turned on the coffeemaker and sat down on the couch and began to reflect on where his life was going and what he needed to do.

The situation with the Zentraedi had been calm for the past several weeks, so Rick felt free to take some well-deserved vacation time to spend with Minmei. He hoped they could spend time getting to know each other more deeply, and to make up for lost time. He was eager to share so much with her, his experiences over the past several years, his hopes and dreams for the future, and to hear the same from her. But it didn't take long for Rick to discover what Minmei likes to talk about the most was Minmei, and that she didn't _think_ about the future. That her experiences over the past several years were primarily about being a star, about adoring fans, and costumes and limousines and TV appearances…and Kyle. He wondered how someone could live such an insulated, self-centered life in a world decimated by war and death, but he also recognized that it wasn't her fault completely. She had a role to play in this world, too. It was a role different than most of the survivors, but an important role nonetheless. She was a powerful weapon against the Zentraedi, after all. She also gave people joy and hope, and helped them forget, if even for a moment, the reality that humanity was facing.

Rick realized that they were not living in the same world. He couldn't talk to her about so many things, like he could with…Rick stopped that train of thought. This was happening a lot lately and he didn't know what to make of it. He missed talking to Lisa. He found himself thinking, "She was just a friend, right? How could thinking about her be damaging to his new relationship? Lisa didn't love him. She would have said so that night when he brought her, an little drunk, and a little wet back to his place a few weeks ago to talk. Vanessa was wrong."

Rick walked into the kitchen and poured himself a cup of coffee before returning to the couch to watch the sunrise. He allowed his mind to return to a subject that was beginning to feel dangerous.

He could talk to her about anything, and she would listen. He could, and did cry in front of her. She understood everything he had gone through over the past few years. He trusted her judgment and opinion more than anyone's, even Max's. He loved to make her smile….and he _missed_ her. Rick let that last thought sink in for minute. Why did she seem so hurt on Christmas night, the last conversation he had with her on the shore of Lake Gloval?

Rick had heard stories, rumors, whatever, about Lisa's behavior lately. She was behaving like a recluse. Reporting for duty and then going home, not even talking to Claudia much. Miriya said she looked like she lost a lot of weight. Not that she needed to, she was thin already, but Rick knew Lisa tended not to eat when she was upset. He thought about trying to call her again, to come up with some kind of work question, just so he could hear her voice and make sure she was okay. He even toyed with the idea of going over to her place to check on her, but realized that could be a bad idea for several reasons.

Rick heard the bedroom door open behind him and turned around to see Minmei walking toward him "Good morning handsome," she said as walked past him from behind and messing up his hair as she passed, going into the kitchen to pour herself some orange juice. "Can I get you something, Rick?" she asked. Rick shook his head no and gave her a little smile. "Okay, I'm going to hop in the shower, then." She said as she closed the door behind her.

Rick realized that it was already 7:30 and that he had been sitting there thinking for almost two hours. What would they do today? Go shopping, again? Cook, eat, make love, and go to bed, again? Even the physical part of their relationship was not what he thought it would be. 

Rick was a bit surprised to discover that he was not the first man Minmei had been with. She had been with Kyle, and even thought they were not blood relatives, Rick thought it a bit creepy since the two had grown up together. Not to mention the fact that he hated Kyle and just about everything he stood for.

Rick began thinking of another way to spend the day and, of course, flying was the first thing that came to mind. He was dying to get back in the cockpit of his mockingbird. He couldn't stand to go so long without flying. He decided to leave Minmei a note telling her that she was on her own for the day; that he was going to the airfield, by himself, to fly. He hoped she'd take the opportunity to talk to her manager, and maybe consider dropping by the studio to work on some new material. Singing was as synonymous to Minmei Lyn as Flying was to Rick Hunter. When that essential piece was missing, neither one was complete.

Rick scribbled a quick note and left it on the counter where Minmei would see it. He said he'd be home late, thinking maybe he'd give Max a call to see if he wanted to meet for a beer later that evening. He grabbed his always-ready flight bag out of his closet and headed for the airfield……………………………

What will Max and Rick talk about?

What has Lisa been up to the past few weeks?

Stay tuned.


	4. Chapter 4

Mid January 2015

Lisa Hayes had come to a crossroads. The weeks following Christmas had been difficult to say the least. She tried to do what she had done in the past when she was upset, which was to throw herself into her job to distract herself. But unlike the past, she found little solace in her work. She instead found herself in the throes of physical and emotional chaos.

She had heard the rumors going around the bridge crew that she had been drinking a lot. While she did occasionally have a few drinks to try and numb her heartbreak, the truth was that her tolerance was very low, and too much made her sick. In reality, she was eating very little, sleeping a lot, and not returning her friends concerned phone calls. Rick had even called a few times, but she could not bring herself to talk to him. What would they have to talk about? 

Lisa began to doubt herself not only personally, but also professionally. As far as her job was concerned, she was afraid that her distracted mental state could be a danger to the safety of herself and others. After all, look what happened to Rick because of her inability to focus.

Facing her coworkers every day became increasing difficult. Admiral Gloval, Kim, Sammy and Vanessa knew something was going terribly wrong between Lisa and Rick, but she wasn't sure how much they knew. 

She found herself missing Rick terribly. They were after all, friends first. She just happened to fall in love with him. She regretted never telling him, fully how she felt. There were some signs that he had feelings for her, but she didn't know what to do with them. Just a few weeks ago, at his place she missed the best opportunity of all. She found herself replaying the evening over and over again in her head, berating herself for what she could have, and should have said. She also wondered if it would have mattered at all. He was with the woman of his dreams, the beautiful, talented, famous, Minmei. Didn't every man want her? How could she compete with her? Rick had wanted to be with Minmei for the past five years and had told Lisa that on many occasions. 

She knew it would just be a matter of time before the two of them "came out" in public and would probably be all over TV and tabloids. They couldn't hide forever, and she heard rumors that some of the news people were on to them. She especially couldn't stand to think of seeing the two of them together, knowing they were now _intimate_. She was drawn to Rick physically more than any other man she had ever known. And based on his rather obvious and somewhat embarrassing physical response to their last kiss on Breetai's ship, he felt at least something toward her, too. 

She began to consider to options outside the RDF. She heard that Monument City was undergoing a huge economic boom and she was sure she could find a new career, and hopefully, a new life, there. Monument was close enough where she could still see her friends occasionally, but just far enough away from Rick and Minmei. 

Saturday, January 17th

After a few more days of thinking and a preliminary job and apartment search in Monument City, Lisa decided to tell Claudia about her decision. After all, Claudia was her closest and most trusted friend, and she felt that she should hear it first, directly from her. She left Claudia a message to meet her that afternoon.

Claudia could tell from the tone of Lisa's voice on her message that something was up, and she was genuinely concerned for her friend's well being. When she approached Lisa, she was staring out over the railing over one of the SDF1's many open balconies with tears streaming down her face.

"Lisa, I came as soon as I got your message. What's wrong?"

"I wanted to tell you first. I've decided to resign, Claudia. I can't do this anymore. Coming in every day seeing him, or reminders of him. Knowing he's going home to her. I just can't. You were right. I waited too long and Rick's lost to me forever." After a long pause Lisa continued. "There are plenty of good jobs in Monument City, in the private sector. I need to get on with my life, and I can't do that here."

"Lisa! I'm surprised at you. If you're willing to throw your career away because of a broken heart than you're not the person I thought you were."

Claudia could see that remark both hurt and surprised Lisa, but she continued on.

"Listen, Lisa. I understand how you feel, but running away from this, is not going to make it go away. You're incredibly important to the RDF. We all need you here. People depend on you. Please think about this some more. If you need to talk it out, I'm here for you. You know that, okay?"

Lisa shook her head. "Claudia, I don't know. I've though about this a lot over the past few weeks. When I lost Carl, I threw myself into my job to the point that I forgot who I was. I lost myself in all this. I wasn't healthy. I'm not healthy now. I don't want to do this to myself again. I want a life, and unfortunately I was stupid enough to convince myself that that was something Rick and I could have together. Don't you see Claudia?"

"You have friends, Lisa. Listen, Rick Hunter was a fool. And there are other men out there, believe it or not. Somehow you miss it, but I hear it all the time from men around here how attractive you are. You just need to loosen up, and not _let_ yourself get consumed by your job. Give yourself some more time to get over this."

Claudia gave her friend a quick hug.

"Like I said, I'm here for you. Anytime. And so is Jean. And Kim, and Sammy and Vanessa and Miriya, although I'm not too sure how much help they'd be, but we all care about you." Claudia's watch alarm sounded. 

"Listen, I've got a briefing to run to. By the way, Admiral Gloval wants to see you right away about a new assignment. From I understand it involves quite a lot of travel. You might want to consider it. I'll call you later."

Lisa watched as her friend walked off, and decided to tell go Admiral Gloval why she would not accept a new assignment. 


	5. Chapter 5

The day was unseasonably warm for January, and the warm sun had melted most of the snow heaped on the Macross Area over the previous few weeks.

After a few hours of cleaning and doing some preflight maintenance on his beloved mockingbird, Rick spent the afternoon flying complex acrobatic maneuvers for as long his fuel tank would allow. Rick found flying to be a great release, because while flying, nothing else mattered, or existed. All of his concentration was focused on the dangerous business of staying in the air. Consequently, he found himself a little surprised that when he landed some things that were confusing him just that morning had become crystal clear by that afternoon.

After landing at the airfield, and securing his plane, Rick decided to call Max to see if he could get away to meet for a beer.

After checking with Miriya, Max agreed to meet Rick at Slammers Sports Bar at 7:00. He had heard some of the rumors that were floating around that Rick and Lisa were on the outs, and figured that Rick needed to talk.

When Max arrived at the always-crowded Slammers, he found Rick sitting at one of the tables in the back with two empty beer bottles in front of him and one in his hand. Not wanting to startle him, he gave him a smack on the back on his back and said "Hey, Rick!"

Rick jumped a little, as though he had been jerked out of deep thought, and responded "Hey. Max. Good to see you. Sit down."

"I hope I didn't keep you waiting long. I had to wait until Miriya got home and she was delayed a little. So what's going on with you? I haven seen or heard from you in two or three weeks, before Christmas even? First I heard you were sick and then I heard you were on leave."

"I was **not **sick," replied Rick sounding a little annoyed. "Why is the RDF like a goddamn gossip factory?"

Max didn't know how to respond, and just gave his friend a confused look. Before he could say anything the waitress came over and Max ordered two more beers and a couple of appetizers.

"I've been on leave since right after Christmas, " Rick continued. "I'm sure you've heard on the news that Minmei's been missing, or in hiding or whatever they're saying now."

Max shook his head, wondering where Rick was going to go with this. "Yeah, I heard that. What do you think happened?"

"Well, actually Max, she's been staying with me since Christmas Eve."

Max just stared at his friend out of disbelief for a moment while the waitress put the beer and appetizers in front of them.

"No way! Are you guys,...you know…together?" Max asked as he took a large gulp of his beer.

Rick shoved a forkful of potato skins in his mouth and responded, "Yeah. You could say that."

"Wow." Max left it at that, wanting Rick to continue on his own. Instead Rick changed the subject. He wasn't quite ready to elaborate.

"So, how's Miriya and Dana."

"Fine, Rick fine. Dana's a handful all right. Growing like a weed. Miriya's taken some time off herself to be at home with Dana for a couple of weeks. Besides that everything's pretty much the same."

After about an hour of talking about sports and some of the other things that happened over the past few weeks, Rick asked.

"Have you seen Lisa lately?"

"No, _I_ haven't. I think Miriya has, though. I take it she knows about you and Minmei?"

"She knows." Rick said and took another large swig of his beer.

"And how's she taking it?"

"I don't know. She won't talk to me. At all. Won't return my calls. Avoiding me like the plague."

Max laughed a little and asked, "Now why do you think _that_ is?

Rick didn't understand what Max meant and just said "What?"

"Nothing. Listen, Rick, I'm not probably not the _best_ person to give advice on relationship stuff, considering mine has been anything _bu_t normal, but what's going on? You've wanted to be with Minmei for long as I've known you, and now you've got her. So what the hell's wrong?"

Rick leaned as far back as he could in his chair without falling over and suddenly realized he had quite a buzz going. He welcomed the feeling, which was rare for him, since he wasn't much of a drinker, looked his best friend in the face and decided to let it all out.

"I don't even know where to start, Max…I mean, for God's sakes, I've got Minmei Lynn, movie star, famous, gorgeous, every guy's fantasy, living with me," Rick stopped and took a quick look around the bar hoping that no one heard that, took a big breath and continued on, "And we have absolutely nothing in common any more, and nothing to talk about. We watch TV, eat. Eat a lot. She's a great cook …have sex. And that's about it. We can't _go_ anywhere. I can't talk to her about flying, or what happens when we're out there; she doesn't get _any_ of it."

By now Rick was beginning to show some obvious signs of being rather inebriated. Max found it very amusing, since he never saw Rick like this before, and certainly never heard him being so open about his personal life.

Rick put his elbows on the table and pointed his finger at Max and continued "And you know what? The _weirdest _thing about all this is that I can't stop thinking about Lisa". Rick realized that this time he _was_ getting really loud and that several people looking at him. He took another big gulp of beer, and continued almost in a whisper,"_Even_ _when_ I'm with Minmei if you know what I mean"

Max decided not to say anything yet, and just let Rick go on. He wondered to himself if Rick Hunter was the only person left on earth who couldn't see how he really felt about Lisa Hayes.

"I don't know _what _to do. I know it's not fair to Minmei at all to keep going on like this. She's gotta know something's bugging me but I doubt she knows _what_."

Max decided it was a good time to ask the question that Rick had been evading for several years. He leaned on the table and asked, Rick, slowly and clearly,

"Rick you owe it to yourself, and to both of them to fix this. Before it's too late. Are you in love with Minmei or not?"

"No."

"So, who do you want to be with, Rick, Minmei or Lisa?"

"Max, I……."

Rick stared off in to space for about fifteen seconds before continuing.

"Lisa."

Max started laughing and said, "Well it's about damn time."

Rick gave Max a look of total confusion and said "What?"

"What took you so damn long? You two belong together. You were the only person who didn't see it. Now do something about it will you!"

"I guess I have to figure out a way to tell Minmei, huh?"

"That would be a good start."

"Max, I don't even know if things could work out between me and Lisa. You know how we argue sometimes. Besides, she hates my guts right now. And I don't even know if she feels the same way. She could have told me, you know. I thought maybe things would change after that night when I picked her up at Claudia's"

"What did you two talk about?"

"I don't remember exactly. We both said we cared about each other and wanted to take our friendship to the next level, you know. But that never happened, because, of course, I screwed it up."

"All I can say, Rick, is that you'll never know unless you try."

Max could see that Rick had a lot to process, and needed to go home. Rick was in no condition to drive so Max dropped him off and on the way home told Rick, prophetically, no to wait too long before doing something about his unusual predicament.

What's going through Minmei's head right now? (I could say something, but….I'll be nice)


	6. Chapter 6

Friday January 16th

After her shower, Minmei slipped into a pair of Rick's sweats and went into the living room expecting to find Rick where she left him.

"Rick, are you in the kitchen?' After she didn't get an answer, she went to look for him and found his note.

"M

Went to the airfield – Need to work on my plane. Will be home late. Don't wait up for me.

R"

She was a little perturbed that Rick had snuck out on her like this, but wasn't completely surprised. He had been behaving a little strangely the past few days, increasingly distant, especially physically. Maybe he was a going a little stir crazy. It was winter after all and they spent most of the last few weeks at home. Maybe he really _did_ need to go do something to that airplane of his. She didn't understand that part of his life at all.

Since Minmei had the entire day to herself she decided to go shopping. A new mall had just opened in one of the other nearby suburbs. She was dying to go to the salon get her weekly facial, massage, manicure, etc., but she couldn't risk being recognized. At least she could go shopping safely with her hair up and sunglasses on.

After having some cereal and tea, Minmei went back into bedroom to get dressed. She decided to put on the new sweater she bought a few days ago, but she needed to cut the tag off before she could wear it. She remembered seeing a pair of scissors around, but couldn't remember where Rick put them, so she began looking around.

After rummaging through the kitchen and desk drawers with no luck, she found herself looking in Rick's nightstand. When she opened the drawer the first thing that caught her eye was not the scissors, but a birthday card. She didn't remember sending Rick a card.

_Wasn't his birthday in March? Oops. I always forget._

She pulled the card out and several smaller items fell out onto the floor. Before bending down to pick them up, she looked inside the card.

The printed inside read:

"May all your birthday wishes come true."

It was signed

"Happy Birthday, Rick, Love Lisa"

P.S. For your birthday I.O.U. dinner. I'll cook (okay, I'll _try_ to cook. Ha. Ha.)

_Lisa, again. Why did **she** keep popping up? Just last week she found a picture of Lisa as a teenager in Rick's desk drawer. And didn't she give him that hideous picture of a stealth bomber in the living room. That **has** to go. And dinner? She made him dinner? Just how close were they?_

Minmei stood there for a few moments, not knowing what to feel before bending down to pick up what had fallen out. On the floor among the items she found were two pieces of paper. She sat down and read them. The first one was in Lisa's handwriting, and had her new address and phone number written on it. The second was, again, in Lisa's handwriting and said, "Welcome home! Your mail is on the kitchen table. I finally got my new cell phone, here's the number. Call me when you get home. Lisa" She could understand why he kept Lisa's contact information, for work of course, but was Lisa taking care of his place while he was gone?

She looked around her and picked up the remaining items. There was a picture of Rick, Lisa, Claudia, Max and Max's wife, (_what **was** her name_?) all sitting together in a restaurant with their arms around each other smiling at the camera. On the back was written, again in Lisa's handwriting, "Rick & Lisa's birthday, 3/11/14."

Minmei stared at the photo for a long time.

I **guess** Lisa is kind of pretty, I guess. I wish I had her body. I wonder if they ever slept together. No, I doubt it. She's definitely not Rick's type. She always seemed kind of…bitchy. Uptight. I bet she wanted him, though. Too bad. Too late now. Didn't she a have a boyfriend that died or something like that? That **is** kind of sad. Well, at least she finally stopped calling Rick, even if it was only about work stuff.

She also found a key, similar to Rick's house key, but not quite the same, and gift receipt dated 3/9/14 for a CD from some other singer.

She sat on the floor in the bedroom most of the morning thinking and realizing she had some real doubts about her future. Could she be happy giving up her career and living the rest of her life as a housewife? Maybe, maybe not. Maybe she won't have to give it up. Maybe she just needed a break. What about Rick's career in the RDF? This was no 9 –5 job. Sometimes he was gone for weeks at a time, doing who knows what. She couldn't deal with him being gone and worrying about him every time he went into harm's way. Couldn't he fly commercially? She decided that he would have to resign if they were to be together, and planned to talk to him about in the next day or so. And, besides, once he did resign from the service she wouldn't have to worry about Lisa Hayes and her feelings about Rick anymore.

She put the items back in the drawer, finished getting dressed, and left for the New Macross City Mall.


	7. Chapter 7

Saturday, January 17th 2015

12:30 a.m.

After spending several minutes fumbling with his keys an inebriated Rick Hunter was finally able to open his front door. His attempts to be as quiet as possible were dashed when he tripped over his own feet and landed face down on the living room rug, sustaining a nasty rug burn on his left cheek.

__

_Shit. I hope I didn't wake her up_ (he thought to himself, referring to Minmei who was sleeping in the bedroom_) Good thing she sleeps like the dead. I'm in no mood to explain myself right now._

Rick groped his way through the dark room before falling on to the living room couch. A bad case of the spins made lying down uncomfortable, so he sat back up and turned on the TV. After watching infomercials for an hour or so, he decided that he needed to talk to Lisa – right now. So what if it was the middle of the night and she was pissed off at him? He showed up at her place at weird hours before. She was always there for him when he needed her, and he needed her now more than ever before. Besides, he needed to tell her that it was over between him and Minmei, and that she was the one he wanted to be with. He put on his coat and opened the front door before remembering that Max drove him home. Lisa's place wasn't that close and it had gotten really cold over the last few hours, too cold to walk. He decided to call her instead. 

Rick dialed the number quickly, and incorrectly the first time. The very angry Zentradi on the other end of the line did not appreciate his late night phone call. He tried again. The phone didn't ring but went directly into Lisa's voicemail. Apparently she had turned her phone off. He decided that he would just go ahead and leave her a message.

"Uh, Lisa. Hi. It's Rick. Um, listen. I, uh, don't know when you'll get this, maybe in the morning, but , uh, I uh, really need to talk to you…about us. You and me us. I really, um…miss you. Please call me, on my cel phone, as soon as you get this, okay. Bye.

There, you did it. Now you've got to follow through on this Hunter. 

Rick went back to the couch and fell asleep. 

Saturday, January 17, 2015

Late Afternoon

Lisa Hayes went directly to Admiral Gloval's Office. She wanted to tell him right away that she could not accept this new assignment because she had decided to resign. 

"Admiral Gloval? You wanted to see me, sir?

"Yes, Lisa. Come in. Have a seat."

"Thank you, sir."

"So, Captain Hayes, how do you feel about accepting a new assignment?"

"I'm — I'm sorry sir. I can't. I've already decided to resign from the RDF. Here's my official resignation." Lisa placed a sealed envelope on the desk in front of Gloval. " I'll stay on until the end of this month. If there's anything I can do to help with the personnel transition, I'd be happy to, sir."

"Lisa, what's this all about? Don't tell me it's because of you and Captain Hunter."

"I didn't know how much you knew about that, sir. I'm afraid it is. Right now I am in no state of mind to take on anything new, or to even stay here in Macross City for that matter."

"First of all, I would have to be both blind and stupid not to see what was going on between you two, Second, I'd have to be deaf because of all the gossip floating around. I'm sorry to hear that. I take it that you've thought this decision through."

"Yes, sir. I have some prospects in Monument City. I'm planning to move there."

"Very well. I guess that means that I will have to recommend someone else to command the SDF-2."

Lisa felt her whole face turn red and her heart begin to pound. Admiral Gloval was going to offer her command of the SDF-2?!! 

Gloval pushed the envelope on the desk back toward Lisa. "I can see by your reaction that you are surprised."

"Yes…yes I am. I had no idea."

"That's exactly why I am giving you back this letter. Take a couple of days to think about this, Lisa. You have until Monday, 10:00 a.m. to give me your decision. The plan is for the SDF-2 to leave earth within the next week. You know how important this mission is, and I know that you are the best person for the job. Of course this mission will take you away from earth for a long time, and I don't have to tell you that we have no idea just how dangerous it will be."

Lisa stood up and gave Gloval a crisp salute. "Thank, you Admiral. I will reconsider."

"Good. Now I'm sure you have some personal business to take care of, so I'll see you on Monday."

Lisa left Admiral Gloval's Office feeling deeply conflicted. Just a half an hour ago she was determined to resign and get on with her life outside the RDF. Now she was facing the most difficult decision of her life. Being given command the SDF-2 was beyond her wildest dreams. Accepting the assignment would take her away, far away, that's for sure. She could be gone for years, if she were to return at all.

Lisa went home to begin packing and decide on her future course. 

Sunday, January 18th

Morning

"Rick, Rick, wake up." 

Rick Hunter opened his eyes to the sight of Minmei standing over him. Her arms were folded in front of her and she looked a little annoyed.

"What time is it?" He said as he sat up and realized that his head hurt.

"It's 8:00 a.m. What time did you get home? And what happened to your face?"

"My face?" He reached up and remembered, sort of, what happened last night. "I think I tripped coming in last night."

"Were you with Max?"

"Yeah, at Slammers," he said as he slowly stood up and headed for the bedroom. "Guess I had a little too much to drink. Listen, I don't feel too good. I didn't get a lot of sleep. Wake me up if anybody calls, or comes by, okay." He closed the door behind him, put his cel phone on the nightstand, and went back to sleep.

Minmei stood there staring at Rick in disbelief. She had never seen him hung over before. Hell, she had never seen him _drink_ before. Maybe something really _was_ bothering him. Given his condition, she decided to hold off on asking him to resign until tomorrow.

Sunday, January 18th

Morning

Wile standing in line at one of downtown Macross' coffee shops, Lisa Hayes discovered that her cel phone battery was dead. She intended to call Claudia and ask her to meet her that morning so that she could tell her that she had made her decision. She would stay in the RDF, accept command of the SDF-2, and ask Claudia to serve as her First Officer. 

She resolved to say goodbye to Rick Hunter and tell him that she was in love with him, once and for all, tomorrow after she assumed command. That way she would already be committed to leaving, and no amount of hesitancy or second-guessing could change her mind. She had even decided exactly what words to use, and had been rehearsing them in her mind. She didn't want to sound like a lovesick teenager, and she certainly didn't want to break down crying in front of him. She did, however briefly, allow herself to fantasize that he would also declare his love, and join her, but she knew that wasn't going to happen. She would tell him and she would leave. And that part of her life would be over.

Lisa realized that for the first time in months, she felt like she had a sense of purpose and direction. 

She ordered an expresso and a blueberry muffin and sat down in a table in the corner and began to read the Sunday newspaper, when she heard someone call her name. She looked up and was surprised to see Kyle Lynn standing in front of her.

"Good Morning, Captain," he stretched out his hand to Lisa.

"Uh, Hi, Kyle. It's Lisa." She said as they shook hands.

"So, from what I hear we have a lot in common lately, Lisa. Mind if I sit down?" 

"Uh, no." _This is surreal. I don't think I like this. _

"Um, yeah, I guess we do. I thought that was a big secret. How did you know she's at Rick's?"

"Where else would she go? It's not like she has a lot of friends. So what are you doing these days, Captain, er, Lisa."

To think I used to have a crush on this guy!

"I'm getting ready for a new assignment, and you?"

"This and that. I'm opening a martial arts school in Monument City. I just came to Macross to see…to see …._my friends_, before I go back." Kyle gave Lisa a weird grin at this point, and she could tell exactly what he meant. He was going to go over to Rick's to see Minmei. 

This should be interesting. Wish I could be there to see that.

"By the way, I'm having a grand opening next Friday at 6:00. You should come by and check it out."

  
"Thanks, but like I said, I'm leaving….leaving town for an assignment."

"Oh, that's too bad. The invitation still stands, Lisa. Come on by next time you're in Monument. Nice to see you."

Why is he being so friendly? Go ahead and ask him. What have you got to loose?

"Um, thanks, Kyle. Hey, I thought you didn't like Military People."

"You're okay Captain Hayes. Good luck on your new assignment."

Lisa watched as Kyle left the coffee shop. After finishing her coffee she went home to resume packing.

The first thing Lisa did was plug in her cel phone to charge it, and call Claudia. Before she had the chance to make the call she retrieved her messages and was utterly stunned to see a call from Rick Hunter at 2:14 a.m. that morning. 

What could he possibly be calling me about in the middle of the night? Did something happen? Do I want to listen to this message?

She decided not to, yet, and called Claudia to tell her she needed her to come over right away. Claudia agreed, knowing instantly from the tone of Lisa's voice that something was up, so she dropped what she was doing and ran out the door.

Claudia arrived at Lisa's place a few minutes later. She found an agitated Lisa pacing around the living room with her cel phone in one hand and a beer in the other. 

"How's that for fast, Lisa. What's going on?"

"Well, for starts, Admiral Gloval offered me command of the SDF-2. I know you knew that he was going to do that. I told him I'd reconsider my resignation, and will tell him tomorrow that I accept. I'd like you to be my first officer. What do you say?"

"I say, yes, Lisa, of course. I'm honored to serve under you."

"Good. I also decided to go to Rick's tomorrow morning to say goodbye and tell him everything. I figured that way I could leave without regretting that I never told him… that I love him. And it will be too late to change my mind about leaving."

"I think that's a good idea."

"Just a little while ago I found a voicemail from him, 2:14 in the morning, last night. I haven't listened to it. I'm afraid to, Claudia. Will you listen to it and tell me what he said?"

"Why are you afraid, Lisa? He's been calling and leaving you messages you for weeks."

  
"Please, Claudia….." 

"Oh, all right, give me that." Claudia pulled the phone out of her friend's hand and let out a large sigh. She pushed the button to retrieve the message and put the phone to her ear. First her mouth dropped open and then she began to laugh.

"Oh my God, what?"

"Well I can tell you or you can listen for yourself."

"Tell me first."

Claudia let out another long sigh and rolled her eyes; still amazed that Captain Lisa Hayes was still acting like a 16 year old over Rick Hunter.

"Well, he was very obviously drunk."

"No!" 

"Yes, and said he said he needs to talk to you right away. About you and him. And he said he _misses_ you."

Lisa's heart began to pound. _Why, why, why would he do this? Why now, when she was finally ready to make peace with the fact that she lost him and was ready to move on. _She plopped herself down on the couch, put her head in her hands. 

Claudia sat down next to her on the couch and put her hand on Lisa's back. "Well honey, congratulations, you've finally gotten a late night drunken phone call. That's a good sign."

Lisa lifted her head and looked at Claudia like she was crazy. "What do you mean?"

"You've never gotten one of those before? It's when the guy, who is either unable or unwilling to express his feelings in person, gets sloppy drunk and calls you in the middle of the night. Roy did it to me several times before we finally got together." Claudia****held the phone up to her face and imitated a drunken Roy Fokker "Hello, Claudia. It's Roy. Listen know I've been a real asshole lately, but you know what, I really love you."

Lisa laughed and looked at Claudia. "But Claudia he didn't _say_ he loves me."

"No he didn't. But he obviously has something to say to you. Maybe things aren't working out with him and Minmei. Who knows? At least he'll have her out of his system if it doesn't work out."

Claudia left shortly after, ordering her friend not to back out on going to Rick's in the morning. 

Lisa resumed packing. Even though the SDF-2 wouldn't be leaving for a few more days, she wanted to move into her new quarters on the ship as soon as possible.

Notes: In the original series, the bridge crew pushes Lisa into the ejection pod telling her that she is the one who has something to live for (meaning Rick of course). I could never understand how they knew Rick and Lisa were finally together that morning. As far as they all knew the two were totally on the outs, right?

And of course, I hate that Claudia, Sammy, Kim and Vanessa were lost in Khyron's attack. It never made sense to me that Lisa didn't seem utterly devastated that she lost almost all of her friends. I like the original Macross storyline that they survived much better. 

It also drove me nuts that Lisa never gets hurt. Don't get me wrong, she's the best, but even when there's death and destruction all around her she never gets a scratch, and her uniform is always perfectly white. I would think that she would probably get pretty darned beat up once in a while.

And finally – I know I've received two of those "late night drunken phone calls," and so have most of my girlfriends. I always they were funny..

  



	8. Chapter 8

Monday, January 19th 2015

10:00 a.m.

Minmei and Rick had hardly spoken to each other the entire morning. Even though she made him breakfast, and made several attempts at small talk, Rick was distracted and distant.

_Does he know that Kyle stopped by yesterday when he was asleep? Does he realize what I've given up to be here with him? For Pete's sake, I'm Minmei Lynn! And I'm in his kitchen doing his dishes! Why did he put his uniform on? He has been sitting in the living room all morning staring out the window playing with that toy plane. What's that all about? Maybe Kyle was right. I need to figure out what I'm going to do, and where this is going._

Minmei walked into the living room, purposely making some noise so she wouldn't startle Rick.

"What's bothering you Rick? And don't say nothing again, you've been brooding for days."

"I'm of no use to anyone just sitting here at home Minmei, I _need_ to go back to work. Max said something was up, maybe relating to the SDF-2, I don't know, but I've taken myself out of the loop and I don't like it. I'm going to report in this afternoon."

Minmei let out a big sigh. "Well actually, that was something I wanted to talk to you about.

Rick gave Minmei a confused look.

"I was thinking…why don't you resign? You could be a commercial pilot, if you still want to fly. Then we could spend more time together. We could get on with our lives like normal people."

Rick stared at Minmei out of disbelief. _Did she just ask him to resign? She really didn't have a clue, did she?_

"Are you crazy! I can't resign. They need me. I have job to do. People depend on me. And normal? There is no more normal. Look around you Minmei."

Rick realized immediately how harsh his tone had become and was just about to apologize for it when Minmei said, "You've done enough. How many times have you risked you life? Aren't you entitled to some happiness?"

Rick replied, trying his best to keep from shouting at her again, paused for a few moments before continuing on. "Maybe so, but sitting around here does not make me happy. And what about you? Don't tell me you don't miss singing – being the star. I know you do. Besides, people depend on you, and look to you for encouragement and inspiration. It would be as irresponsible for you to quit singing as it would be for me to resign!"

_Nice job, Hunter. That was a classic example of passive-aggressive behavior. Maybe you should just tell her the truth._

"Oh, Rick let's get married!"

Rick couldn't believe his ears. _Did Minmei just propose to him?_

"What did you say?"

"I said let's get married. Oh, please think about it Rick."

Her words hit Rick like a kick to the chest.

"Uh, yeah, Minmei, I will. I'll think about it."

Minmei turned around and went back into the kitchen quickly, her heart pounding.

_I can't believe I just blurted that out. What was I thinking? I don't even know if I want to get married! What if he says yes? What if he doesn't resign? Could I be happy giving up singing forever? I suppose I could. If we're together all the time and we start a family right away, I'll have plenty to keep me busy. _

Back in the living room Rick felt sick to his stomach. Just a few months ago he would have done anything to be where he was right now, but here he was, and it felt so wrong. Minmei didn't know that he spent all morning trying to put the words together to tell her that he didn't love her the way he once thought he did. He only told her he would think about her proposal to stall for more time, and to keep her from throwing on of her tantrums like she always did when she didn't get her way. He was unhappy, and he had feelings for Lisa that he cold no longer deny.

11:00 a.m.

Captain Lisa Hayes stood in the middle of her living room surrounded by a couple of boxes and suitcases that contained all of her personal belongings. She didn't have much, but she was very fortunate to have been able to hold on to her most prized possessions; several large photo albums chronicling her life from childhood on, a silly looking and very worn out ostrich given to her by Karl on her 7th birthday in Australia, a box of letters and a few CD's.

She lingered there for a few moments reflecting on the past two years. There were some good times; it was good to back on Earth, even a decimated, wounded Earth. Her friends were nearby, and most of the time Macross City residents could enjoy some "normalcy," and peace and focus on the future. There were plenty of difficult times too. Life on Earth looked nothing like it did only 20 years ago. The planet and all of its inhabitants were nearly wiped out. Had it not been for the SDF-1 and the technology she carried, all life on Earth would have been lost forever. Rebuilding was a hard and dangerous process; and there were still violent Zentraedi uprisings to deal with. Her relationship with Rick Hunter remained nothing more than a friendship.

At 10:00 a.m. that morning Lisa met with Admiral Gloval and formally accepted command of the SDF-2. Gloval was not surprised. He knew that Lisa was the best person for the job, and he was confident that she wouldn't let the RDF or the people of Earth down when they needed her the most.

As new Captain of the SDF-2, Captain Hayes' first action was to call a meeting with her senior staff for 1:00 p.m.

She returned home to finish packing, intending to move into her quarters aboard the SDF-2 that afternoon. Even though the ship wouldn't be leaving for several days, she wanted to be on board and oversee preparations personally.

Lisa had one piece of unfinished personal business remaining. She had to say goodbye to Rick. She closed and locked the door behind her, and walked to Rick's house.

11:25

Lisa took a deep breath as she walked toward Rick's front door. She hesitated for a moment, trying to convince herself that she could do what she came to do without falling to pieces. She rehearsed the speech one last time in her head, took another deep breath and rang the doorbell.

Several seconds went by and there was no answer.

_Don't tell me he's not home. I don't have a plan "B." _

She rang the doorbell again and waited another minute.

_What if Minmei comes to the door? What am I going to say? _

Rick was so deep in thought that he didn't heat the doorbell ring.

_I don't know how I ever thought things between us could work out. We don't even live in the same world. Lisa would never ask me to give up flying or walk away from my duties. How could I been so stupid? Why didn't she return my call from the other night? I know she probably hates me right now, and I'm not sure I blame her. I have got to go find her and talk to her face to face right now. _

Rick stood up and was going to tell Minmei he needed to go out for a while when he heard the doorbell ring. "Rick, would you get that, I'm busy in here."

"Uh, yeah, sure."

Rick opened the door and found Lisa Hayes standing there, with her head down, looking up shyly at him.

"Lisa!'

_Rick was frozen in shock, even though he wanted to throw his arms around her and give her a huge hug._

She replied quietly and couldn't suppress a little smile when she saw him, "Hi, Rick."

_It's so good, and yet so hard to see him._

"Hey, um do you want to come in?"

"No, thanks. Rick, I, I came to say goodbye."

"Goodbye? Lisa! Where are you going?"

Lisa lifted her head up, pulled her shoulders back and continued, still avoiding looking directly at Rick's face.

Minmei appeared at the door.

"Hi, Lisa."

"Hi, Minmei. Rick, I've been given command of the SDF-2, and we're being sent on a diplomatic mission to Tirol."

"No! When are you leaving?"

Minmei wrapped her arms around Rick's arm in a protective manner. It was obvious that Rick was very upset about this, confirming her suspicions. Even if _her_ relationship with Rick wasn't going to work out, she wasn't sure she liked the idea of him leaving her for another woman, especially Lisa Hayes.

"As soon as the reflex engines are transferred. That will probably be a few days, but I'm preparing to move on board this afternoon. Listen, Rick," Lisa suddenly found the courage to look directly into Rick's blue eyes, and suddenly lost all of the composure she was determined to maintain. "This mission will take years, and I know that it's possible that we may never come back." Her heart began to race and she began to feel tears well up in her eyes. "There's something I need to tell you before I go. I love you Rick," Lisa sobbed loudly as tears began to run down her cheeks. She took a second to try and compose herself before continuing. "I always have, and I always will."

_She does love me._ Rick realized that Minmei was squeezing his arm hard. Before he could say anything Lisa continued. "Minmei, take care of him for me, okay." Lisa then put her hand on Rick's shoulder and gave his cheek a soft kiss, realizing at the same time that tears were also running down Rick's face.

"I will, Lisa. Good luck on your mission."

"Thanks, Minmei. I have to go. My crew is waiting for me." Lisa barely finished speaking before she turned and began to run. She knew she had to get out of there before she completely fell apart. It was over. She said what she came to say, and Rick didn't say anything even close in return.

Lisa was a half a block away when Rick shouted, "Lisa, wait!" and tried to take off after her. Minmei had a lock on his arm and was not about to let go.

"What are you doing? You can't go after her. What about me?"

Rick gave Minmei an ice-cold look that frightened her to the core and shouted, "Let me go!"

She was too stunned to hang on any more and released her grip. Rick took off after Lisa down the street.

Rick heard a loud roar and realized that Khyron's ship was approaching fast and low. Suddenly the ship began to fire randomly, hitting the street a few blocks ahead, right where Lisa was headed. The concussion of the blast was enough to knock Rick down, but he got right back up, running and shouting Lisa's name. He found her unconscious a few blocks down.

_Lisa! Oh my God. No! Please don't let her be dead. _

Rick knelt down next to Lisa; afraid touching her might do more damage in case she was injured badly. As he felt her neck for a pulse, Lisa moaned quietly and opened her eyes. She immediately tried to sit up, but cried out in pain in doing so. Rick gently put his arms around her to stop her saying, "Don't try to get up. You're hurt."

Lisa realized that her head and side hurt. She said, in a hoarse whisper "What happened?"

"Khyron."

"I've got to get to the ship." Lisa sat up slowly with Rick's help. He knew no matter how badly Lisa was injured that he couldn't stop her, but thought he'd try anyway. She was holding her right side and had a bruise on her cheekbone.

"Let me call for a medic…"

"No! I'll be all right. I just had the wind knocked out of me." Lisa braced herself against Rick's shoulder and pushed herself up. She stood there swaying for a moment, and would have fallen over had Rick not caught her under her arms. She fell into him, almost loosing consciousness again when Rick said, "Fine, then let me help you." She began to pull away a little when she felt his hand touch her chin. He gently lifted her head to look her in the eyes and said, "Wherever you're going, I'm going with. I love you."

Lisa was too stunned to say anything at all.

_How hard did I hit my head? Am I hallucinating? _

She took Rick's hand and was about to say something when she heard that voice…

"Rick, Rick, oh thank God you're all right! Let's go! We have to get to the shelter!"

Rick made sure Lisa was able to stand on her own and backed away from her. "Don't go anywhere. I'll take care of this."

"What are you waiting for Rick? We can't just stand here."

"I'm not going to any shelter, Minmei. In case you haven't noticed, we're under attack."

"But, Rick you can't just leave me!" she latched onto his arm again. "I'm so scared. When is this going to end? Let's go, Rick, please!" Minmei began to cry, and latched on even harder to Rick's arm.

"Lisa and I have our duty to perform. I'm a fighter pilot. This is my life. If you don't understand that now you never will."

Lisa couldn't wait any longer and walked over to them. Khyron was coming around for another round of fire and they had to get off the street. "Let him go Minmei. Get yourself to the shelter!"

Rick yanked his arm out of Minmei's grip, took Lisa by the arm and the two headed off toward the base.

Rick flagged down the first jeep he saw and ordered the driver to take the two of them to the SDF-2.

Once inside the jeep Rick held Lisa close and tried to keep her steady without hurting her. The roads were badly damaged and every bump in the road caused her to tense up and wince.

Fortunately, it was only short ride to Lake Gloval and the SDF-2. The jeep barely stopped moving before Rick jumped out and helped Lisa to do the same. The two ran hand in hand into the open bridge elevator, "Are you going to be okay? I'll stay with you on the bridge if you want me to."

Lisa leaned against one wall of the elevator for support, and took Rick's hands into her own. Her mind was a muddled mess of emotions; joy, fear and dread all at the same time. As much as she wished she could revel in the reality that Rick Hunter did love her, she knew this was a bad situation. Khyron was out of control and had nothing to loose. She knew that it was a real possibility that one or both of them wouldn't survive the day.

"No, I can make it. We need you out there Rick."

Rick moved in close to Lisa and placed on hand on her cheek and kissed her tenderly just as the doors to the bridge opened, in full view of Admiral Gloval and Claudia. "I'll meet you back at the base when this is over."

Lisa responded with a nod as she ran off the bridge to her duty station.


	9. Chapter 9

It's been a really long time since I updated, but here's my take on what could happen next.

Please read & review.

I don't own Robotech or own these characters (if I did, I'd slap Rick & Minmei upside the head. just kidding)

* * *

"Admiral! Khyron's locked in a collision course."

Lisa nervously double-checked her screen. Khyron's ship was coming in fast.

Damn him! This can't be happening! First the SDF-2 was destroyed and now, this! 

"Recommend we abandon ship, Admiral!" she shouted even though she knew there wouldn't be enough time. She braced herself against her console and said a silent prayer.

Before Gloval could respond, Khyron's ship slammed into the crippled Battle fortress.

The Zentraedi Warship tore off the Daedalus "arm" of the SDF –1 and plunged into the body of the ship several decks below the bridge. The impact caused the starboard wall of to buckle and sent debris and twisted metal flying through the bridge. A large piece of the bulkhead crashed through the observation window at the front. Sheets of metal and flames blocked the hatch, the bridge's sole exit.

The concussion from the impact threw Sammy and Kim to the floor pelting them with shrapnel and flaming debris. Vanessa slammed forward into her workstation, before falling to the floor. Lisa was thrown backward landing unconscious several feet from her console. Several fires began to burn around the bridge engaging the sprinkler system.

Only Admiral Gloval and Claudia were left standing and uninjured. Claudia immediately began checking to assess the damage to the ship and to see if there was _any_ possible means of escape for the bridge crew.

"Status Report!"

"The Daedalus is gone," Responded Claudia, her voice shaking. "The hull and power systems are breached. The reflex furnace her been nearly depleted, but the temperature is rising – fast - the blast radius should be limited to….."

"How much time do we have?" asked Gloval.

Claudia looked at the screen that monitored the furnace's temperature. It was almost maxed out. "Five minutes – tops. There are two operational escape modules left."

"Give the order to abandon ship." Claudia nodded in response and pressed the button that automatically executed Gloval's command. The skeleton crew that was operating on he lower decks would probably have enough time to get out, and hopefully, get clear of any explosion or collapse.

Gloval looked around the bridge at his crew – his _family_. He knelt down, and felt Lisa's neck for a pulse. She was but alive, but seemed to be badly injured. Claudia checked Sammy, Vanessa and Kim – they were dead, killed on impact.

Gloval gently picked Lisa up placed her into one of the escape pods.

"Claudia! I'm putting Lisa in this one." Shouted Gloval as he bucked Lisa into seat. "You're taking the other one! That's an order! Don't argue!" Claudia nodded in agreement. She knew what his plans were, and knew that she couldn't change his mind. She also knew that there probably wasn't enough time for her to escape.

The bridge was getting hot and thick black smoke began to pour into through the breaches in the floor.

As soon as he put Lisa down she began to stir, moaning quietly. She opened her eyes, but all she could see was smoke and the pale red glow of the emergency lights. She blinked her eyes a few times and could make out the form of Admiral Gloval standing next to her.

Where was she? What was happening? 

"Goodbye, Lisa. You've been like a daughter to me."

"Emergency System Activated" 

Suddenly Lisa realized exactly what was happening. They were abandoning ship – or at least she was - she was in an escape pod. The pod's doors began to close slowly.

"NO!" She tried to get up, but she was buckled in, and a stabbing pain in her back and ribs prevented her from moving further. She watched helplessly as the doors shut. Admiral Gloval and Claudia were standing shoulder-to-shoulder watching just a few feet away.

"EMERGENCY EJECTION WILL COMMENCE IN 5, 4, 3, 2, 1."

The pod ejected backwards with tremendous force. Lisa slipped into unconsciousness as the pod shot away from the doomed ship.

The very moment Lisa's pod cleared the ship, and before Gloval could open the remaining pod, the metal below the bridge began to give way from the heat from the reflex furnace. The whole ship began to shudder, knocking Claudia to the floor.

Goval knelt down beside Claudia, gathering her into his arms just as the top of the ship began to fall away.

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Rick stood on the tarmac of Fokker Air Base watching the whole, terrible scene. He saw the initial collision from the cockpit. and had tried repeatedly and in vain to contact the bridge.

Black smoke was billowing from the huge gash in the middle of the SDF-1. The portion above the impact zone was listing precariously. A series of smaller explosions were coming from the remnants of Khyron's ship.

Helicopters were hovering the ship, but it was obvious nothing could be done to save it. If there _were_ survivors on the bridge, they probably only had minutes to escape before the entire structure collapsed.

Rick dropped to his knees, his helmet falling to the ground. Maybe they had time, he thought to himself. Maybe they abandoned ship and that was why she didn't answer.

"God, please…" he said out loud, his voice cracking. He put his hands over his eyes trying to block out the scene in front of him, and suppresses the tears that were coming, but the sound of more explosions and the unmistakable cracking and screeching of metal forced him to tear his hands away. The entire top of the ship was tearing apart from the rest and falling into the Lake.

Rick turned his head away from the horrible sight and hoped that there would be survivors from the rest of the ship. The SDF-1 was operating on a very limited staff at the present time, no more than 100 personnel, mostly assigned to areas below the breach. The RDF's primary focus was on the SDF-2, and most personnel had been transferred to the new project.

His ringing phone shook Rick out of his shocked state.

It was Max.

"Max, where are you?"

"I just got in, Rick, but I'm headed for the base hospital. Miriya's got some minor burns, nothing serious."

"Did you see anyone getting off the bridge? Escape pods or anything?" Max heard a long pause "I'm looking for Lisa."

"Oh." Max glanced out the door of the hangar at the remains of the SDF-1 and hoped for Rick's sake, that a miracle happened. "No, Rick, I haven't heard anything, but I'll let you know if I do."

"Okay, thanks, Max."

Rick and ordered the first private he found to get a vehicle and take him to the area around Lake Gloval. If anyone was able to escape, chances were that's where they'd end up.

Lisa's escape pod was programmed to clear the ship and land gently with the assistance of an automatically deployed parachute. The chute was damaged during the attack and was of little help – her pod slammed into the ground at water's edge.

Lisa had been stuck inside the damaged pod for a while, minutes, or hours, she couldn't tell how long, since she had been unconscious for part of the time.

She knew the rescue workers would find her, each pod emitted a distress signal and was equipped with a locating device, but she wasn't sure they would reach her in time. She wasn't sure how badly she was injured, but she was finding it difficult to breathe and she was beginning to feel like she might pass out again

She began to pound on the door with her hands and feet trying to push open the jammed door.

"I have to get out of here. I have to find out if anyone else made it out…."

She didn't bother trying to yell for help, no one out the outside would hear her anyway. Where did she land that no one saw her? Doing her best to ignore the pain in her back and chest, Lisa decided to put what little energy she had into getting out of the pod.

"I am NOT going to die in here - Dammit," She yelled out loud, kicking open the pod door.

She pulled herself to a standing position and surveyed her surroundings.

"No wonder no one saw me," she thought to herself. The pod was surrounded by smoke and large pieces of flaming debris.

She tried to step out of the pod, but the she couldn't – the stabbing pains in her lower back were severe.

"Ma'am? Do you need help?"

Lisa looked up and saw a young engineering technician from the SDF-1 with his hand outstretched.

"Yes, yes, thank you."

The young man, Lisa recognized him as Lt. Adams, put his other hand on Lisa's elbow and gently helped her out of the pod.

There was rescue equipment of all kinds making its way through the area. Lisa recognized it as the parking lot by the park. He led her to a bench a short way away from the shore where the air wasn't so thick with smoke.

She began to feel dizzy and put her hand up to her head.

"Are you okay, Captain? Are you hurt?"

"Did you see any other escape pods – from the bridge?"

"No ma'am. I only saw the one escape pod, yours, before the collapse."

"Collapse…." Lisa stood up and turned around and saw the smoking remains of the SDF-1. "Oh no." She put one hand on Adams' arm steadying herself. "Oh my God." She put her other hand over her mouth and began to cry.

When Lisa turned around Adams could see blood on the back of her uniform. "Captain, you need medical attention….."

Lisa stood, not moving staring at the ship. She either didn't hear him, or ignored his assessment.

"Can I call someone for you?"

Without turning around she said, "Can you find Captain Hunter for me? Rick Hunter."

"Uh, sure, ma'am. What do you want me to tell him?"

He looked at Lisa – she was in shock for sure, staring and deathly pale. Tears were running down both of her cheeks. He pulled out his phone and made a quick call to base command. They were able to patch him through to Rick's phone.

"Just tell him I'm here."

Lisa didn't feel pain anymore, she just felt numb.

They can't all be dead. I couldn't be the sole survivor.

Rick had the private driving all over the area surrounding the SDF-1, looking for something, anything that might help him find out if there were survivors. He was beginning to resign himself to the fact that Lisa went down with the ship, when his phone rang again.

Lt. Adams? Who was that? 

"Captain Hunter. I'm calling for Captain Hayes. She wants me to tell you we're at the edge of the park right off parking lot "C."

"What! I'll be right there."

Rick's leapt out of the jeep before it could complete its screeching stop, running over to Lisa. She was sitting on the bench motionless, crying, staring, at the remains of the ship.

Rick stopped himself, not wanting to startle Lisa.

"Thank you Adams."

"No problem, sir." Adams saluted and ran off, returning to duty.

"Rick." Lisa stood up and walked directly into Rick's arms, burying her face in his chest.

He put his arms around her and almost felt faint. He almost lost her, and the reality of that hit him hard. Lisa was shaking and sobbing into his chest.

"Lisa. Are you okay?"

"They're all gone Rick. Henry, Claudia, the girls….."

"I know, Lisa. I'm so sorry."

Rick rested his chin on top of Lisa's head and held her close.

"Henry put me in the ejection pod…he saved my life, Rick."

"He loved you Lisa. You know you were like a daughter to him." Rick pulled away and looked Lisa in the eyes, and wiped her cheeks with his thumbs.

_I love you, too, Lisa._

Justthen Rick realized that the hand he had on Lisa's back was getting wet. He took his hand away – it was blood. She began to feel heavy in his arms.

"Lisa! Lisa, talk to me!"

She didn't respond. Hs scooped Lisa into his arms and moved as fast as he could toward the rescue workers.

"Medic! I need a Medic here, now!"


	10. Chapter 10

I don't own these characters or Robotech, just borrowinf them for a little while.Thanks "DWP" for the help pn this one!

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Max paced nervously in the waiting room of the ER of the Fokker Base Hospital. Miriya's burns were minor, but painful. She would be fine, and he was grateful. While he was waiting for someone to update him on her release, his thoughts turned to Rick.

It had been about a half an hour since he had spoken to him. Max didn't want to tell him on the phone, but from his vantage point it would be nothing short of a miracle for anyone to have escaped from the bridge. Given the extent of damage to the ship, escape pods would have been their only option. If Lisa was in one of them Rick should have heard from her by now.

He was reaching into his pocket to give him another call when he was approached by one of the ER doctors.

"Captain Sterling?"

Max looked up to see the physician walking toward him, hand outstretched.

"Yes."

"I'm Dr. Hoffman. Your wife is fine. She just has a few superficial burns on her arm. She can go home as soon as we finish her paperwork."

"Thanks, Doc. Do you know if they brought in anyone from the SDF-1?"

"A few technicians with minor injuries, I think. Are you looking for anyone in particular?"

Before the Max could answer, the ER doors flew open and the paramedics were shouting out the stats of the patient they were bringing in.

"This is Captain Lisa Hayes - 29 years old, she was in a smashed-up escape pod from the SDF-1; apparent internal injuries to the chest and back, shrapnel wounds right back and shoulder. BP 90 over 60 and falling. Weak pulse, no breath sounds on the right side. She's been in and out of consciousness and minimally responsive"

"Take her into Trauma 4." Hoffman ordered one of the residents. "Get X–Ray in here and tell the OR to stand by."

Rick went racing toward the room behind the paramedics. A nurse who had just left Lisa's room stopped him.

She put her hands on Rick's shoulders and turned him around. "You can't go in there. I'm sorry – you'll have to wait out here."

"No!"

"Hospital policy, Captain, now, please."

The nurse gently pushed him to the waiting area. "Please have a seat. One of the Doctors will talk to you as soon as he can. Captain Sterling, your wife will be out shortly."

"Thank you."

Max watched as the trauma team rushed Lisa into the room and closed the doors. He was unable to get a good look at her but based on what the paramedics said she was badly injured. He walked over to a chair and sat down hard.

Rick sat down across from him, and put his head in his hands, sighing loudly.

"How's Miriya?" he asked without lifting up his head.

"She'll be fine, Rick. They're releasing her in a few minutes."

Max was concerned about his friend. It was just two days ago that Rick confided in him about his true feelings for Lisa. Rick resolved to be honest, with both Minmei and Lisa this morning, but Max didn't know if he got the chance.

"You okay, Rick?"

"I don't know." He answered, rubbing his eyes and he sat up and back into the chair.

"Did you get a chance to talk to Lisa?"

"Yeah, this morning before all this. She came to see me….to say goodbye"

Rick didn't need to explain any further. Max heard the news that morning that Lisa had been given command of the SDF-2. Her assignment was a closely guarded secret, and only those directly affected were "in the know" about the plans for the nearly completed battle fortress.

"What happened to Minmei?"

_Minmei!_ Rick had forgotten about her.

"I don't know. She went to a shelter. I'm sure she's all right."

Just then, Miriya was walked out of the ER.

"Maximillian, I can go now." She stopped, realizing that Rick was also there, and that he looked upset.

Max gathered Miriya into his arms and said in a low voice so Rick wouldn't hear. "Mir, Lisa's been hurt. It looks pretty bad."

"Oh, no." Miriya was of course, well aware of the drama surrounding Rick and Lisa. She never could understand Rick's obsession with Minmei, or why he would even consider choosing her over a great warrior, and friend, like Lisa. She sat down next to Rick and placed her hand on his back.

"She's strong, Rick. And the doctors here are excellent, you know that."

Rick didn't say anything, numbly nodding in response. Yes, the Doctors were good, the best at dealing with Lisa's types of injuries, for sure, whatever they were. Except for a shrapnel wound on her shoulder Rick didn't see any other injuries, at least on the outside. It couldn't be too serious, could it?

The three of them sat in the waiting room for almost an hour waiting to hear news on Lisa's condition. Rick was too nervous to do anything but pace and stare out the window.

Max broke the silence by standing up and asking , "I'm going to go get something to drink, Mir, Rick, can I get you something?"

Before they could respond a young Dr. in scrubs entered the waiting area and asked, "Is anyone here for Captain Hayes?"

Rick shot to his feet as though he had been shocked. "That's me. I'm Rick Hunter."

"I'm Dr. Novak. Are you her husband… boyfriend?"

"Uh……..boyfriend," Rick answered slowly. What else could he say? "How is she?"

"Come with me, we'll talk" Dr. Novak put his hand on Rick's back and led him toward Trauma 4.

"We'll wait here for you, Rick," offered Miriya. Rick would need them there, especially if there was bad news.

"Thanks." Rick nodded his head and continued toward Lisa's room.

"Captain, Lisa has several life-threatening injuries, and she's very critical. She got here just in time. Five more minutes and she would have died."

Rick stopped and looked at the Doctor, he could feel his heart pounding. _She could have died?_

"But she seemed okay. She was walking and talking just a little while ago."

"She was in shock. Things can go bad quickly with injuries like hers. We're going to have to operate to stop the internal bleeding and take care of those shrapnel wounds."

Dr. Hoffman stopped outside the door. "You can see her for a minute before we take her to the OR. She is conscious, but in a lot of pain. Unfortunately we can't give her anything stronger right now; she's still somewhat unstable. We had to insert a chest tube to help her breathe so there's a lot of blood around, try not to look. Don't upset her. I'll be back for her soon as the surgeon is ready."

"Thanks."

Rick slowly entered the room. The Doctor was right, there was blood, Lisa's blood, all over the floor. Pieces of her uniform were strewn about the room. He walked slowly over to her side and stood there not knowing what to do.

He didn't even see the nurse who was standing on the other side of the room writing on a chart. "Go ahead, you can talk to her, she's awake." Rick jumped, startled by the nurse's presence. His mouth was dry and he suddenly felt afraid.

She was covered only by a white sheet that was splattered with blood, and she was still wearing the plastic collar the paramedics put on her to immobilize her neck. Her skin was deathly pale, almost blue. She was on oxygen, but breathing on her own.

"Lisa? "

Lisa's eyes opened slowly and Rick noticed tears dripping down the side of her face. He sat down next to her and stroked her forehead.

She tried to open her mouth to talk, but all that came out was a quiet sob.

"I know it hurts, Lisa. Don't try to talk." He looked deeply into her eyes, trying to convey confidence. It was difficult. He had never seen Lisa like this before. She had always been the strong one, the lucky one, even. Through countless battles she never sustained so much as a scratch. Rick, in turn had been injured and hospitalized three times since joining the RDF, earning him the nickname "Crash," for a short time.

Once again Lisa tried to say something, but was unable. Instead she mouthed Rick's name and weakly lifted her hand toward him.

Rick took it and held it against his chest. He moved in as close as he could so he could see Lisa's face. "We're going to make it through this, you hear me? The doctors are taking good care of you. You're going to need an operation to stop the internal bleeding but you're going to be okay. _Everything_ is going to be okay."

She squeezed his hand as hard as she could in response. Rick gently kissed her hand in return and gave it a gentle squeeze.

Lisa could feel Rick's strength and confidence. The look in his eyes and emotion in his voice touched her like never before. Yes, he said he loved her earlier, but she could see it now. She could no longer doubt it. Tears began to pour from her eyes and she tried to blink them away furiously. Her friends were gone, her mission and ship were gone, and her heart was aching. But she had Rick's love, finally, and as long as she had that she knew she would be all right.

The Doctor returned and put a hand on Rick's shoulder.

"We have to take her up now, Captain."

"Okay." Rick kissed Lisa on the forehead and whispered, "I'll be here when you wake up."

Rick stood in the trauma room and watched helplessly as Lisa was wheeled through the doors and into the elevator. As soon as everyone left the room he sat back down hard in the chair, put his head in his hands and let the tears that he had been holding back flow freely.


	11. Chapter 11

Thank you AKURyo, Addicted, Adena, DW, Sphersian and GPPR for your reviews and suggestions. Please read, review and suggest!

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At Rick's urging Max and Miriya left the hospital to be with their daughter. Four hours had passed since Lisa went into surgery, and Rick was getting more nervous by the minute, pacing and occasionally glancing at the TV. Every channel was showing minute-by-minute coverage of the evacuation of Macross City and the rescue operations on the remains of the SDF-1. Reports stated that most of the crew escaped, mostly with minor injuries. 9 crewmembers were still missing, 5 were confirmed dead. The bodies of Admiral Gloval, Claudia, Vanessa, Sammy and Kim were found in the remains of the bridge.

Lisa's picture occasionally appeared on the screen and a newswoman reported that she had been rescued from an escape pod, and was in critical condition at the base hospital. Speculation was already running rampant as to why Lisa was the only bridge officer to survive. Was it because of her relationship with Admiral Gloval? Was it because she was the "chosen one" as Captain of the SDF-2? Had they simply run out of time?

Rick angrily turned off the television and walked back to the couch. The bridge video data recorder would answer all their questions as to why. As if it mattered. How dare they question her survival at a time like this?

Then Rick did something he hadn't done in a long time. He prayed.

_God, please, don't let her die like this. I love her so much. I promise I'll treat her right – make up for everything. Please…."_

His thoughts were interrupted when an older female Dr. in scrubs walked into the room and sat down next to him.

"Captain Hunter, I'm Dr. Leonard, the trauma surgeon. Lisa made it through the operation just fine. She lost a lot of blood, but she's stable."

"So she's going to be all right?"

"Yes, I think so. We'll have to monitor her in ICU for infection and more bleeding for a couple of days, but barring any complications she should make a full recovery."

"Thank God," sighed Rick. "When can I see her?"

"In an about a half an hour or so. She is on her way to the ICU now, on the fourth floor. Make sure the nurse in the ICU has your number before you leave tonight, and we'll call you if there's any change in her condition."

"Thank you, Doctor."

"You're welcome, Captain," As Rick and the Doctor stood up and shook she couldn't help noticing that the young man looked exhausted. "After you see her you should go home and get some rest."

Rick nodded and smiled at the Doctor as she left the room. _Go home and get some rest_, he thought to himself? He wasn't even sure he had a home left, or if the area was too "hot" to return to. And rest…even if he had somewhere to go how could he get the events of the day out of his mind long enough to rest? Most importantly, he promised Lisa he would be there for her when she woke up.

After having a cup of coffee and a stale donut from the vending machine Rick worked his way up to the ICU Unit where Lisa was. As soon as he stepped through the doors he was flooded with memories and emotions – none of them pleasant. He had spent time in this place himself, twice, and had visited countless others. Most came home. Some didn't.

He took a deep breath and asked the nurse at the desk to direct him to Lisa's room. "She's in room 9 on the left. She's just starting to wake up."

Rick stopped in the doorway when he saw that yet another Doctor and a Nurse were examining Lisa. The Doctor was flashing a light in Lisa's eyes, and the nurse was adjusting her IV. "Lisa, can you hear me. You're finished with your surgery and are in the ICU. You're doing fine. Can you open your eyes for me?"

Why is this so hard, Lisa thought to herself? Her eyelids felt like they had sandbags on them, and she was so, so tired. Why wouldn't they just leave her alone?

"Come on, Lisa. We need to check a few things and then we will leave you alone, I promise. But you need to cooperate."

_Go away…._

"You can come in Captain Hunter."

_Rick?_ Lisa's eyes fluttered open, and the Doctor chuckled. He had seen this before. "Have a seat. I need to run a few tests and then I'll leave you two alone."

After making sure Lisa was comfortable, the Nurse left telling Rick that visiting hours were ending shortly.

Rick thanked the Doctor and sat down next to Lisa. She rolled her head to look at him and whispered a weak, "Hi."

Rick reached over and put his hand on Lisa's forearm.

"Hi."

"Have you, have you heard anything, did anyone else….?"

Rick knew what Lisa was asking. She had been holding out hope that maybe, just maybe someone else had survived. "No," he answered quietly, "not from the bridge, Lisa."

She nodded. She knew, but she just needed to hear it again. It wasn't just a bad dream.

"I'm so tired, Rick."

"I know. It's okay. Just sleep. I'll be here."

Lisa fell back asleep and Rick leaned back in the chair sighing deeply. He looked at his watch – it had been over twelve hours since Lisa showed up at his door that morning – and since that moment everything had changed.

He closed his eyes for a moment and thought about the time Lisa had come to see him here – in the very room next door.

**Flashback**

"Hey! Lisa! I thought you said you were too busy to come back. Why the long face? What's wrong?"

"It's…. it's Roy. He's dead, Rick. He was wounded in the battle this morning, and died about two hours ago. I'm sorry."

"What? Roy's… No!"

Lisa sat down on the bed next to Rick and put her arms around him. She didn't say anything for a long time. She just held him and let him cry. When Rick finally began to calm down, she pulled away a bit and said, "I know how close you and Roy were, Rick, and I am so sorry. " Rick looked up at Lisa and realized than she had been crying along with him. Lisa, after all, had known Roy for a long time. And she was Claudia's best friend. Claudia….

"How is Claudia?"

Lisa shook her head in response "The Dr. gave her some Valium and told her to get some rest. I took her home. She wanted to be alone for a while. I'm going to go over to her place and spend the night." She pulled away a bit more and looked at Rick. He was even paler than he was when she came in and rubbing his temple. "Are you okay? Can I get you something?"

Rick didn't answer. His head was beginning to pound again.

"Rick?"

"I um..I don't feel too good."

Lisa let go of him so he could lie back against the pillow, and reached over him to press the nurse's call button.

The nurse came in immediately, and even though Rick usually resisted, he accepted the nurse's offer of pain medicine.

Lisa sat down in the chair next to the bed, waiting for the nurse to finish checking Rick.

"Do you want me to stay a while, or would you rather be alone?"

Rick didn't know what to say. He didn't want Lisa to go. Somehow her presence comforted him, but the pain meds kicked in and he was beginning to feel tired. "I'll be okay. You should be with Claudia."

Lisa stood up and shook her head. "If you need anything, Rick, call me. I mean it, okay?"

"Thanks, Lisa."

She reached down and gave his hand a squeeze and turned to leave. "I'll see you tomorrow."

**End of flashback**

Lisa kept her word. She visited him every day that he was hospitalized, bringing him things to read and snacks, and keeping him company. Why didn't he see it? It was Lisa all along who he could depend on. It was Lisa who was there for him, listening, caring. It was Lisa who loved him.

Rick only allowed himself a moment of regret before the reality of what they were facing came to his thoughts. The next few months would be terribly difficult for Lisa. Once again she would be left to face the type of guilt that survivors of such a catastrophe has. He saw a glimpse of it after he plucked her from Alaska Base. Even though she had Claudia to lean on, and even to some extent, himself, Lisa went through some dark moments during those two years of reconstruction. She tried to be strong, to control her feelings, but there were times when Lisa didn't leave her quarters for days except to report to work. It took her a long time to be able to talk about her feelings and deal with them. Once again, he regretted not being there more for her during those times, and vowed to himself not to make the same mistake again.

Rick had only been with Lisa a short time when the nurse returned to tell him that visiting hours were over, and that he could come back the next day.

Knowing that he should let Lisa rest, Rick stood up and kissed her softly on the cheek. He was relived to find that she was warm and sleeping peacefully. Color was returning to her cheeks. He gave his number to the Nurse's station and made his way out of the hospital – not sure what he would find, or where he would go.


End file.
